Guardian: (English and Welsh) police chiefs to discuss offering guns to all frontline officers

[friendly_iconoclast]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/23/police-chiefs-to-discuss-offering-guns-to-all-frontline-officers


"Police chiefs will consider the possibility of offering a gun to every frontline police officer in England and Wales, to counter the threat of a marauding terrorist attack, the Guardian has learned.

A discussion paper on the subject has been drawn up for the next meeting of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), which wants to look at how to boost armed police numbers to deal with a crisis, following the atrocities in Manchester and London.

The paper is intended to start a debate on the issue among police leaders at the two-day meeting that starts on 12 July – although it is thought at this stage unlikely that any wider arming will be agreed upon. Routine arming is controversial within policing and many do not support it...

...Traditionally, most police in Great Britain are unarmed – unlike their counterparts in Northern Ireland – but police sources say the longstanding principle is under pressure after four terrorist attacks in three months."

Left unsaid is the fact that this change would be a great way to escalate violence during demonstrations...

[yagotme]

1. Or, to de-escalate violence during a terror attack.

Which is also extremely likely to happen as of late.

[friendly_iconoclast]

5. "Which is also extremely likely to happen as of late." True dat...

[pablo_marmol]

2. My only thought: Why did it take so long? NT

[friendly_iconoclast]

4. Britain had a long tradition of generally unarmed police

Which was all well and good until there was a rise in the number of people who actively DGAF
about any implied social contract.

[pablo_marmol]

6. Yeah, I'm aware of the UK's long tradition of unarmed police.

Perhaps I'm not as up on my news as I should be, but I thought that problems caused by those who DGAF had been occurring for some time. Problems caused by white gangs. I guess I'm suspicious about the notion that armed officers "up the ante" and result in an escalation of violence.

[beemer27]

3. Great Idea

If an officer wearing a badge and in uniform tells me that I have nothing to worry about because he will protect me, I would feel MUCH safer if he had been trained in the proper use of a firearm, and actually HAD a firearm. That would give him a much better chance of fulfilling that promise of safety that he made to me.

Edited to correct stupid spelling mistake.